HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR GUIDE 

“But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father

 will send in my name, He shall teach you all things

 and bring all things to your remembrance, 

whatever I have said to you” (John 14:26)

     The Orthodox Church cannot be destroyed for it is in truth the Body of Christ, and it is headed by Jesus Christ, the Truth and Logos of God, and is guided by the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth. There will always be defenders of the truth guided by the Holy Spirit and there will be enemies from within and without, but the divine human Church will vanquish enemies and will last to the end of time. We pray at all times that the Holy Spirit will abide in us, cleanse our souls, and guide us into all truth, reminding us of all that Jesus has said and done.

     We pray to the Holy Spirit who abides in us or leaves us according to our faith, good works and patience. Without the Holy Spirit we are unable to do anything not even celebrate the Divine Liturgy or a Baptism. Christ said that He will bring all things to our remembrance so that all of us who are members of the Church will think and decide together and always be one with Christ in the Holy Spirit. The first prayer of our Church is to the Holy Spirit: “Heavenly King Comforter and Spirit of truth, who are everywhere present and fills all things; Treasury of blessings and bountiful Giver of life; Come and abide in us; cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls Good One.”                                                                

     The Protestants reject oral tradition which the Holy Spirit speaks through Synods, Saints, Martyrs and Holy Fathers, foolishly claiming that the Bible has everything that they need. Having broken away, not from the true church, but from the infernal Papacy they foolishly developed false Christian, showing no reverence toward the Holy Virgin Theotokos, the holy icons and all the Saints. 

     The formed their own idea of churches, then arrogantly went into Orthodox Christian countries, preaching their false ideas and robbed many of their true Orthodox Faith. They distort Christ’s teaching claiming that only Protestants hold firmly to the truth of Scripture, but Holy Scripture opposes the Protestants by proclaiming that we “Hold fast to the traditions you have received orally or written.” They reject all oral tradition claiming the Bible is all that is needed. They ignore their own Bibles and Christ’s words which  says much more than what is recorded in Holy Bible. They ignore the teaching of Jesus Christ whom they claim to worship. For example Christ says that it is the Holy Spirit who reminds of what He said verbally and is not recorded in the Bible.

EDUCATION

     Education is most important to people of the present world and many parents generously struggle to have their children acquire the best education possible in order to “be successful”, an important goal in this life. Many parents realize the importance of a higher education they want their children to do well in their careers during life. However if parents sincerely love their children they would first search into something more important that would be of immense benefit to first themselves and their children, not only until death but for ever and ever into all eternity.  In order to really “be successful” in this present life we must acquire as our most important educational project knowledge of and love for the living God and Creator of all.

     God is very far away or even non-existent and unimportant in the minds of many people, but as we cannot deny that the universe and mankind really exist, so we cannot deny that God really exists and that it is an absolute impossibility that there be no God, for if there were no God, neither would there be creatures like ourselves having knowledge and intellect, able to build houses and roads, highways and cities, buildings and airports, and He who made us endowed us with so much more! But because God is real, what He as our Creator has to said is vital to our well being and happiness. If we are scoffers and unbelievers this knowledge will be of no concern or benefit to us.  On the contrary we would do well to be seekers of what is good and permanently beneficial in this sinful and temporary world. Sin and rejection of God is a choice, which many select, but will necessarily end up in sorrow and wretchedness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Of course education is not evil in itself and of course it is proven to be useful. But education is not the road to happiness as there is something much more important than any education. For education can fill a man with knowledge but not with wisdom. Education can fill a man with knowledge but  cannot extend his life. It is better to have no education than to be ignorant or inimical toward God. God is so important to our happiness and benefit that knowledge of Him without any other knowledge would cause a person to be filled with divine love and wisdom. Having an education or no education are equally of no value without knowledge of God. For we cannot go to Him on judgment day and expect anything good when we have never known or honored Him, or denied His existence. The worst thing is to become an enemy of God insulting and mocking Him whom you do not even know or believe!

THAT WHICH UNITES US

THAT WHICH UNITES US

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 

one God and Father of all.” (Ephesians 4:5-6

      Baptized Orthodox Christians collectively constitute the whole Body of Christ – the Church!. One of the characteristics of the Body is that it is single, one and united. Just as there are not two Christs, and there cannot be any divisions among us for there are not two churches, and Christ is the Head of one Body. When we confess our faith, we say, “I believe in one God,”   “ in one Lord Jesus Christ,” “in one holy catholic and apostolic Church,” “in one baptism for the remission of sins.”  Before Jesus Christ came into the world when the idea of many gods was prevalent among most men. Christ revealed to us the one God in  three persons, Trinity in unity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and He founded one Church to unite all men into unity with one God.

     Our existence as the Church which Christ founded, shows all men that we have one faith and one Lord, united together as one in the one holy Church. We understand and proclaim the one God, in three persons, one in nature, one in essence, Trinity in unity, Father Son and Holy Spirit. We glorify God the Logos, who is one of the Trinity, born of the Virgin as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Christ came into the world, to save the world by His sacrifice on the Cross. He died and rose from the dead in His glorious resurrection and we go through a death and resurrection in holy Baptism. Plunged into the water, we put to death sin and the devil and we die with Christ, and coming up out of the water we rise into His glorious resurrection.  

     Our old sinful nature has been destroyed in the waters of baptism from which we emerged as new men, and with Christ as our teacher and example we enter the arena to struggle as members of the Church to become glorious with our Head, and we will spread His glory to all the world. Our lives then change into being filled with gladness we rejoice when going to sleep and awakening and in both work and relaxation.  We rejoice in both fasts and feasts and we attend services as frequently as possible, struggling to live a godly life filled with faith, hope and happiness, living our lives as the Lord intended. 

LONGINUS THE CENTURION

LONGINUS THE CENTURION

The centurion exclaimed: “Truly this is the Son of God”

     Longinus was a centurion who served under Pontius Pilate. He was standing with his soldiers  as  they were gathered beneath the Cross of Christ; Longinus confessed before everyone seeing all that was happening and that he had taken part in it, he cried out: “Truly this is the Son God.” According to some accounts he was the soldier who pierced the side of Christ, and blood and water poured forth. He also witnessed the signs at the Crucifixion, the rending of the rocks, opening of sepulchers, the failure of the sun which caused darkness over all. Longinus became a strong believer and later was baptized by the apostles, then he preached Christ all around and later was martyred being put to death because of his faith in Christ and he is commemorated on October 16.

     A widowed woman who lived in Cappadocia was suffering from blindness and had a son, her only child, who gave her assistance leading her about, but he died leaving her in a serious situation.` The helpless woman fell asleep and there she met with Longinus in a dream who told her: “I am Longinus the centurion who had his head severed for the sake of Christ. My head was brought here and cast upon a dung heap outside the city.  Go, therefore, to that place and dig deep into the dung, and you shall find my head. Having found my head touch your eyes and you shall recover your sight. The woman got up and called for someone to help her and take her to the biggest dunghill and leave her there.  She continued to grieve for her recently deceased son whom she depended on. She began to dig with great hope of finding the head of Longinus.

     Having strong faith she enthusiastically dug and eventually felt his head with her fingers and though blind gazed at the head of Longinus in her hands.  She saw the head as her sight had returned. Filled with joy and with great thanks to God, she took the head and washed it then placed it in her home as being more valuable than anything else in the world.

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD         

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through

 the knowledge of Jesus our Lord”  (2  Peter 1:2)

“Let us create man in our own image and likeness”

     Knowledge of God is the most important knowledge that we can ever acquire, while ignorance of God is the worse condition of every man and the reason why is the consequences. Knowledge of man is also extremely important as it deals with our ultimate and eternal destiny. The Scriptural quotation above promises that “grace and peace will be multiplied” in   the souls of those who know Him and Jesus Christ, the Godman whom He has sent into the world.

     Constant and ever increasing “grace and peace” is acquired through knowledge and keeping the commandments of Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus Christ being the Logos of God incarnate is the Head of the Holy Orthodox Church wherein is preserved all the knowledge of God and man and man’s true destination through the door of death. This is the final trip that all men will certainly  take but it is not the door to heaven where everyone goes as so many think. It is the door to either everlasting life or to the dread judgment and eternal death.

God is so much more than just “the Creator”. For He is the one and only source of everything we could ever desire.  St. Paul says that God is love!  None of us would be able to express or experience love if God did not implant love into our souls. God’s love is a perfect and lasting love which desires to keep us happy and blessed.

     We cannot describe God in words but we have learned much through the words and deeds of Jesus Christ, who is both God and man who dwelled among us. We learned that he requires that we have faith in Him, recognizing Him as truly God wand truly man also.  He is compassionate and kind, loving and patient, the source of all knowledge and the bountiful giver of life.  We become closer to God when we struggle to keep all His commandments and seek to do His will instead of our own will. To gain everlasting life we must seek to become like God, and this struggle will enable us to acquire a better knowledge about Him. Nestled deep in human hearts is a desire for what is good and beneficial but few there be who act upon this and acquire eternal life which is promised to the faithful.

     It is God’s will that we rid ourselves of every vice and He is without any vice being the source of all virtue and perfection of life. God is a healer and heals every infirmity, gives eyes to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and raises the paralytics. God is just and he will condemn the faithless who reject Him out of the hardness of their hearts. Such were the Scribes and Pharisees whom Christ chastised for their hardness and resultant wickedness. But He embraces with great joy all who come to Him in sincere faith.

God is truth and the source of all truth; God is peace and the source of all peace. He is kind and the source of all kindness.

MOTHER NATURE or 

PROVIDENCE OF GOD

     The powers that be have personified nature by what surrounds us as mother nature, and this does much to hide truth of God’s eternal providence. Nature is not a person so they are calling mother nature what in reality is God’s total control over all creation, for everything that exists depends on the Creator. Our Lord with His disciples during a sea storm told the wind and sea to be quiet and they obeyed becoming calm. What is wrong with personification?  The main thing is that it denies God’s control over everything, and this will be of interest to those who accept  the truth that God undeniably exists. God created everything heavenly and earthly. 

     Every material thing that God created, microscopic or gigantic. has a substance and nature which describes them, making it possible for us to understand and able to distinguish.  All substances and  natures are under the Lord’s control and are not from mindless mother nature. Only God the Creator controls everything that has existence being the Creator of all. The population of the present world is over 7 billion which exists due to the extremely wonderful and glorious  providence of God. How is it possible for those who deny Him to walk on His ground, eat His food, drink His water and breathe His air. travel in His sky, sail on His water, cut down His trees, and so much more but in their denial they prove to be ingrates, for instead of marveling and glorifying Him, they deny His existence.

     We use the term “God undeniably exists” because it is critical to proceed from one truth to another. The truth of God’s existence is undeniable except in the minds of fools, for “the fool says in his heart, there is no God.” Man, who is the image of God, testifies to the truth of the reality of God for the simple fact that man is a real creature which has existence but is not his own maker. To deny the Creator, one would need to deny creation and creatures. 

ANOTHER GOD ON EARTH

Warning to Our  Hierarchs! 
Stop Honoring and Kissing the Enemy of Orthodoxy!

   Jesus Christ the Godman promised to remain with us on earth. And He never left, but there is another god on earth, and his name is the Pope of Rome. They attribute characteristics to the Pope which belong to God alone and have thus made another god. The Papacy declare that  their popes are foundations and heads of their church. Giving the Pope of Rome divine characteristics.

PAPAL CLAIMS, POPES HAVE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES

Pope is head of Church.

Jesus Christ is Head of Church.

Pope claims all Christians his subjects.

Christ, has all Christian as his subjects.

Pope is supreme judge of faithful

Christ is supreme judge of faithful

Pope is guide of Church.

Holy Spirit is guide of Church.

Pope is the Church’s teacher.

Christ is the Church’s teacher. 

.

Pope is above entire Church.

Christ is above Church.

Pope is infallible.

God is infallible.

Pope’s judgments not to be reviewed.

Christ’s judgments not to be reviewed.

.

Pope, not to be reviewed by council.

Christ, not to be reviewed by council.

Pope is highest authority on earth.

Christ is highest authority on earth.

Pope rules Church by divine right.

Christ rules the Church by divine right.

Pope is above Ecumenical Councils.

Christ is  above Ecumenical Councils.

FASTING IS GREAT – LOVE IS EVEN GREATER

       Fasting is a great thing, but love is greater. If it is by fasting that demons are driven out, passions tamed, the body calmed, and the spirit steadied, it is by love that God makes His abode with men.  The Lord himself emphasized fasting as necessary, but proclaimed love as the greatest commandment.

      In the first half of the last century, Jeladin Bey ruled over Ochrid.  He was a rebel against the Sultan and an independent governor. At that time the Church was governed by Metropolitan Kalinik. Jeledin was a Moslem and Kalinik an Orthodox Christian, but although they belonged to different religions they were good friends and often visited each other.  It happened that Jeledin Bey had condemned twenty-five Christians to death by hanging, and the execution was scheduled during the Great Fast on Holy Friday.  The Metropolitan, deeply distressed by this event, went to Jeladin and besought him to mitigate the sentence.  

     While they were talking, the hour of the mid-day meal arrived, and the Bey invited the Metropolitan to eat with him.  A dish of lamb had been prepared for the meal. The Metropolitan excused himself, as the fast prevented him from remaining to eat and he prepared to leave. The Bey was angered and said to him: “Choose; either you eat with me and free twenty-five people from hanging, or you refrain and they hang.  The Metropolitan crossed himself and sat down to lunch, and Jeladin freed the Christians from the death sentence. 

                                             ( From the Prologue Vol. 1 p 104).

Some facts:

 This beautiful account reminds us of the superiority of love over fasting. Fasting is a necessary way of life in Orthodoxy where we habitually fast or feast in different days and seasons. And if we receive Holy Communion we would do well when we keep the ordained fasts. Fasting also promotes better eating habits, self control and obedience. To save lives of men condemned to death by eating instead of fasting is better choice.

Orthodox Christians fast at various times:

1. From meat, dairy, oil, and wine.

2. From meat and dairy only, using oil and wine.

3. From meat only using dairy, oil and wine.

  Fasting has always been practiced by God’s people in both the old and new Covenants. Here are two examples from Holy Scripture.

Old Testament”

“But I, when they troubled me, put on sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting”  (Psalm 35:13).

New Testament:

“Anna was a widow of about 84 years, who departed not from the temple but served God with fasting  and prayer night and day” (Luke 2:37).

Fasting is   necessary and great, but love is far greater.

TRUTH? LAUNCH INTO THE DEPTHS

     Where can genuine truth be found other than in the living Truth who came down from heaven? Jesus is the source of all truth being the eternal Truth, Son and Logos of the Father. As God He descended and became a man like unto us, and He dwelled among us full of grace and truth. When he came into the world He became the  most important man that ever lived, the one for whom everything exists. Why is it that so many people who are baptized into Orthodoxy, and are well educated having knowledge of the Son of God, fall away from the Faith  and fall into various philosophies and alternate ways of life. 

     The biggest reason is that they never really recognized Christ, having had only a superficial knowledge of Him and the Orthodox Faith. This resulted in their remaining superficial lacking a firm attachment to truth from heaven. We cannot be superficial in our faith but should be simple and sincere also God knows our many thoughts and feelings which cannot be hidden. There is also  pernicious sin which can assault a person who is not well prepared with a defense, and sin can cause us to fall away from truth. Having fallen away makes it more difficult to return. It is difficult but not impossible, for God will guide a soul that is sincere, and  sincerity with the desire for truth will lead a soul to all truth. 

     The Lord commanded His disciples to “launch into the depths”. For that’s where the better fish will be. If we go into the depths of the Gospels they will lead us forward and upward into heaven. If we read or hear the Gospel and fail to put into action what we learned, we can find ourselves in danger of falling away. We need to arouse zeal in our souls to quickly abandon evil and put into practice all the good we can as soon as we know our responsibilities. This involves having Christ and the Gospels as the guiding light of our entire lives. We need to abandon our bad habits and acquire virtues such as faith hope and love, honesty, kindness, justice, etc.

“THE LOGOS BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US”

“And the Logos (word) became flesh . . .full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

     The divine Logos is God and it was the Logos of the Father who came down and dwelt in the womb of the Virgin Mary in order to become a man among men. This is among the greatest of events ever to occur, for He the God who thought of creating a man with full freedom to do as He wills and the first man He created was Adam, from whom He also made Eve and married them.

    He had a wonderful way of life prepared for them and everything was beautiful and there was no death. But disregarding the warning of God concerning possible death, Eve succumbed, then Adam to the deceptive words of the Devil who promised that she could disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit, even though God had warned them not to eat of the tree: “On the day you eat you shall surely die.” The Devil who appeared to her in the form of a serpent was successful in deceiving her which caused sin and death to come into the pristine world.

     Of course the Lord knew that this would take place as there is no ignorance in Him, and His eternal plan alone would be successful and would overthrow the Devil’s authority and nullify his power. He would not only overthrow the Devil’s plan but God would also fulfill His majestic plan for the sake of which He established the heavens and earth. The wisdom of God being perfect can never be overcome for it is divine.

God’s original plan is filled with His compassion and love and He will fulfill a double purpose. His original plan is found in the beginning of the Book of Genesis: “Let us make man in our own image and likeness.” This was the destination of the first man, who, instead of becoming  a perfect man, he became a prisoner of sin and death in Hades.

“And the Logos became flesh . . . “

     But God the Son and Logos following His unchanged and original plan would become flesh and become the first man among many being perfect in His image and likeness.  He would strip away the power of the deceiving Devil, who through the power of death tyrannized man, fomenting misery, evil, hatred and death to become a part of their daily lives. Also Christ would save man from death by putting death to death by His own death. “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.” Death is no longer a threat to those who follow Christ, but is the door to eternal live and the joy of our Lord.

CHRIST IN OUR HEARTS

     Many may say that they have Jesus Christ, but this could mean that they have Him on their tongue. Others may have him on a paper icon and say that he has Christ and honors Him. Another may have a framed image of the Lord hanging on the wall telling others that he honors Him as his Lord. But Christ does not need honor from us nor does He accept this as true worship. Christ seeks much more for He seeks the hearts of men as His dwelling place. And those who have Christ feel His presence in their hearts   where they love and magnify Him.  Thus, it is only when Christ dwells in our hearts that He becomes our Master and God.  If we are not aware of His presence within our souls, all we must do is ask and ask again, and if we are sincere, He will come and dwell in us and make us aware of His presence.. 

     What is man composed of  and where is his heart?  Man is the image of God, who was created body and soul from the clay of the earth, and then a breath or spirit of life was breathed by God into the first man’s body and soul, and he received life from the spirit of life and became a living soul. The Bible does not say that God breathed a soul into man for the soul was not breathed into Him, rather the soul comes from the earth.  Thus, God did breathe a spirit of life and not a soul out of himself into man. 

     Man is formed of body, soul and spirit. The soul of man has three faculties which are intellect, affection or feelings and a free will. Man’s intellectual faculty is located in his head, which is also called the mind through which he cognizes, responds and remembers. He has a heart with which he feels love and hate, joy and sorrow, his heart being located in his breast. Man has a will also located in his breast, which decides what to accept or reject, or whether something is true or false. So we must know God through our minds and love Him with all our hearts, and firmly decide with our will to obey and worship Him in spirit and truth. 

     If Christ is not in our heart, but on paper or on a wall, then He is a plaything, for God must be worshiped as the first commandment says “with all our hearts, in spirit and in truth.” Our hearts are small organs but God can does choose to dwell in our hearts and He will fill them abundantly to overflowing if we approach Him in deep and abiding faith and if we open widely the doors of our hearts to Him. God is life and is the source of all life and by His dwelling in us, He causes our hearts to be filled with His life and delightfully enjoy the love He offers to all. We in turn, upon being aware that our life comes from God, will gladly return our deepest and sincere love to Him, and this mutual love will cause our hearts to jump for joy as we thrive on His sweetest love.

For these things to take place, we must  read the Bible every day, giving our attention to the many important things which God clearly tells us; we must with all our strength strive to do all that He commands. We must not have the Lord only on paper icon or in a frame on the wall, but must have Christ living within our hearts and there He will quench our thirst; such consequent delight and joy cannot be found elsewhere. But we cannot we cannot welcome and invite the Lord if we have any contrary or corrupt ideas or thoughts in our hearts for they are poisonous. We must say with David the Psalmist: “Create in me a clean heart O God and renew an upright spirit within me.”

OUR RELATIONS WITH GOD

   OUR RELATIONS WITH GOD

     “God is the Lord and has revealed himself to us, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” The Jewish people were once the people of God or the people who knew the true God and worshiped Him in spirit and truth. But when He came down as the Son and Logos and was born as a male child from the Ever-virgin Mary, the Jews ended up by rejecting Him completely and worked against Him.  They supported the wicked rulers when they decided to kill Him by nailing Him to the Cross, and enthusiastically agreed., crting: Let Him be cricified! They lost the greatest treasure that can ever be known to man and in doing this they condemned themselves to eternal perdition.

     Jesus Christ is the Son and divine Logos of God and therefore He is God and man. When Jesus opens His mouth and speaks, every word is directly from God the Father for He is one with the Father. Jesus said: “I am the light of the world, he who follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).

     When the Jews committed Christ to the Cross, although some did accept Him, the majority did not want him, crying for his death. No man spoke like this man, declared many. Indeed!  Jesus had said: “I am the bread that came down from heaven! He spoke as our Creator and God to us humans, and He spoke with complete authority and extreme love for man. We must remember that Love of the Creator for His humble creatures cannot be neglected without consideration.

     But are not we Orthodox Christians treating Christ with similar disrespect as the Jews who thereby committed their bodies and souls to eternal suffering? Christ did not just speak a few words, He taught a complete change in our way of life. “Depart from evil and do good.” He taught is that the kingdom of God was more important than all food and drink, more important than wife and children, than life or death! We need to train ourselves to completely love God who is good even more than we love anyone or anything else. Our present life may end sooner than we think and we will be judged for what we have believed and what we have done. Today is the day of repentance and prayer to God for tomorrow may be too late!

     In this world we get so used to catering to our body and its desires that we can think of nothing else, and for people who have no faith or hope in the future life, this is their way of live.  We however, if we desire eternal life need to prepare for the future while we are still in this world, for there is no way to change after death removes us from this life bringing us to the terrible judgment. The most important thing is that Jesus Christ teaches us all through the Scripture what we should do, but if we do not habitually read the Bible every day, how can we become informed. Scriptures are filled with life and without them we are dead to spiritual life and to God, who speaks to us through Scripture.

ORTHODOX TEACHING ABOUT GOD 

     There is only one God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in nature and essence. We Orthodox repeatedly confess in our Creed that there is only one God, the Creator of all that exists. The foolish idea replacing God with “Mother Nature” is a modern hoax conceived by unbelievers who in their imaginations invented a fictional character in the attempt to justify their denial of the true God, and Creator of heaven and earth. We also realize that God does everything with a perfect purpose,  most especially His wonderful formation of mankind in His own image, and the freedom for us  to attain to the perfection of His likeness. These thoughts should arouse in our minds the purpose for which God created us, and this in turn should arouse in our hearts extreme love and respect for our God and admiration for all His works, further  it will inspire us to greatly honor and care for all of the Lord’s creation. In turn, we will observe more of the beauty that surrounds us, but we will especially observe  the extreme beauty of our Creator which His creation slightly proclaims and which reveals  some of His eternal beauty. 

     Because God never ceases to be one in three, God is a monad which is important for if the monad did not exist, there could be no numbers nor anything else, for the monad is necessary for additional  numbers to exist; and without numbers there would be no God or creation, in addition everything God made is necessary and  there is nothing superfluous. The firm belief in the oneness of God we Orthodox proclaim in saying the Creed of ourHoly Church: “I believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten . . . ” All creation by its countless visible wonders, repeatedly proclaims God’s innermost divine beauty.

ORTHODOX VIEWS OF GOD

ORTHODOX VIEWS OF GOD

      We apply the name “God” to the foremost, the most high and self-existent supreme Being, who is the source of everything that exists. God created everything from nothing and thus is the only source of everything.  He is self-sufficient having no needs, and everything that has existence receives it from God.

     God (Theos) exists forever not in time for He is eternity having neither beginning nor end, but He gives existence to everything that exists. When God spoke to Moses he declared His existence to him, saying: "I Am who  I am, or I Am the Being." The Being is a more descriptive name for God for He is the Being from whom everything that exists comes to be.

     God has eternal perfect existence and there is no other god but the Being and Creator of all that exists. Reason testifies that there can only be one God, and it is impossible for any other god to exist. Christianity teaches more about God than Moses and the Prophets, due to increased divine revelation.

     Christ revealed His Father in heaven from whom He is eternally begotten and the Spirit who eternally proceeds from the Father. Therefore Christianity teaches that the one God is a Trinity, three hypostases and one God, or one in three and three in one – Father Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity. The teaching that God is one was taught by God himself in the first commandment: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods beside me” (Exodus 20:2-3). When addressing Moses, God spoke as an individual, not as a plurality: “I Am who I Am”   “Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4) “Before me there was no other God. And after me there shall be none” (Isaiah 43:10). God is one in nature and in essence, and being self-existent He is perfect in every way. 

     This doctrine means that God is the one who establishes to the potential unity and peace of the human race, for w He made us one in Christ, united in the Church which is Christ’s Body and the Church is one there being no other church. We continually confess this oneness and unity of our Church each time we say in the Creed: “I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.”

     The perfect life that God planned for man has been maliciously affected by Satan who sneakily introduced violation of God’ law causing  sin to enter the lives of man, followed by the many ills stemming from inevitable death.  Crimes, murder, wars and every ill that afflicts man are not the creation of God. But God permits this condition for a time but in time will destroy them and they will never return. But God’s plans are being fulfilled in the holy Church, wherein are those who seek love and peace with God and with each other, are sanctified.

PROPHECIES OF REVELATION 6

PROPHECIES OF REVELATION 6

Chapter 17 (this chapter continued from previous issue)

     “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast full of the names of blasphemy and having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color and  decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of  the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I wondered with   great astonishment.”

     "And the angel said unto me, For what reason did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that you saw was, is not and shall ascend out of the abyss and go to perdition. And they who dwell on earth shall wonder whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, yet is.  And here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. And there are seven kings; five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come, and when he comes, he must continue for a short while. And the beast that was and is not, even he is the eighth and is of the seven and goes into perdition And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom yet; but receive authority for one hour with the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they that are with him are called, and chosen and faithful. And he said unto me, the waters which you saw where the whore sits, are people, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore and shall make her desolate, and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill his will and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God shall fulfilled. And the woman whom you saw is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.”

     “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of demons, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drink of the wine of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are increasingly enriched through the abundance of her delicacies.  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her my people, that you not be partakers  of her sins and that you not receive her plagues.  For her sins have reached unto heaven and God has remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works; in the cup which she has filled fill to her double. How much she has glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give to her, for she says in her heart, I sit a queen, and I am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judges her.”

      “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH". The whore  is a mystery because men cannot really see who she is, instead they see the Pope and his super power and divine authority. "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of  the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I wondered with   great astonishment.”

PROPHECIES OF REVELATION 5

PROPHECIES OF REVELATION 5

Chapter 17

     “And there came one of the seven angels which has the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come here, I will show unto you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast full of the names of blasphemy and having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color and  decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abomin-ations and filthiness of her fornication and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of  the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I wondered with   great astonishment.”

     ‘And the angel said unto me, For what reason did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that you saw was, is not and shall ascend out of the abyss and go to perdition. And they who dwell on earth shall wonder whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, yet is.  And here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. And there are seven kings; five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come, and when he comes, he must continue for a short while. And the beast that was and is not, even he is the eighth and is of the seven and goes into perdition And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom yet; but receive authority for one hour with the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they that are with him are called, and chosen and faithful. And he said unto me, the waters which you saw where the whore sits, are people, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore and shall make her desolate, and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill his will and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God shall fulfilled. And the woman whom you saw is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth. And after these things saw another angel come down from heaven, having great  authority and the earth was brightened with his glory”.

     “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of demons, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drink of the wine of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are increasingly enriched through the abundance of her delicacies.  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her my people, that you not be partakers  of her sins and that you not receive her plagues.  For her sins have reached unto heaven and God has remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works; in the cup which she has filled fill to her double. How much she has glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give to her, for she says in her heart, I sit a queen, and I am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judges her.”

PROPHECIES OF REVELATION 4

     "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. And he exercised all the authority of the first beast before him and causes the earth and them who dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. And he does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceives them that dwell on the earth by means of these miracles which he had the power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image of the beast which has the wound by a sword and did live. And he had authority to give life to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not adore the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; and that no one might buy or sell, except he that had the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is six-hundred threescore and six (666)" (Rev. 13:11-18).

      The woman clothed with the sun typifies the Holy Orthodox Church; the beast rising from the sea typifies Islam, but the second beast that we see rising from the earth typifies the papacy headed by the infallible Pope of Rome. The differences are that the beast of the sea contains many barbaric-like people, while the beast of the earth represents apparently civilized men. The authority of both these beasts is first religious and second political and warlike. In the same way that Mohammed appeared in the world as the one and only apostle if God, so the Pope appeared as the one and only apostle of God, enforcing his acceptance as a religious and political leader, for he claims to be both arch-priest and king! The objective of both of these beasts is the same, the eradication of holy Orthodoxy.

     The differences is that Islam directly denies and blasphemes Jesus Christ, denying that He is the eternal Son of the Father and is just another prophet; so they deny God as being the eternal Father of Jesus Christ and of all Christians. The Pope comes in the name of Christ as the only custodian of Christianity, and assumes to be the one and only religious and political leader of the entire Christian world.

PROPHECIES OF REVELATION 3

PROPHECIES OF REVELATION 3

The Beast Coming From the Sea

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy . . . and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his wounds as it were wounded to death; and his fatal wound was healed and all the world wondered after the beast.

And they adored the dragon who gave authority unto the beast. And they adored the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given to him a mouth to speak blasphemes and to continue forty and two months. 

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given to him to make war against the saints and to overcome them, and authority was given to him over all kindred and languages and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall adore him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that lead into captivity shall go into captivity; he that kills with the sword must be killed by the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints” Rev. 13: 1-10).

  The beast described herein was Islam established by Mohammed in 622 AD.,  which in 1299 formed the Ottoman state and in1453 conquered Constantinople, ending the thousand year era of the Byzantine Empire. There are only two entities which continually wage war against the Orthodox Church of Christ, one is Islam and the other is the Papacy, described in Revelation. Orthodoxy is the woman clothed with the sun, the beast rising from the sea is Islam, and the beast rising from the earth is the papacy.

This beast has seven initiated its war against the Church with the first head, with the sacking of Jerusalem by its caliphates and ended it when the seventh head  sacked Constantinople.  It blasphemes the Lord demoting him to be one of the prophets, while he himself, Mohammed, claims to be the last and greatest of all the prophets. He reduces Christ to be a simple prophet, even though He is both God and man, and elevates himself to be greater than Christ the Godman, as the last and greatest of the Prophets.

The first caliphate of the beast sacked the city of Jerusalem. This caliphate was founded in Arabia by Mohammed founder of the new religion which attacked Jesus Christ the Godman, the religion of Christ and of the Gospel. Mohammed’s work goes back to 622 AD.

PROPHECIES OF REVELATION 2

PROPHECIES OF REVELATION 2

The Holy Orthodox Church is identified in the Book of Revelation as “the woman clothed with the sun” and she is shown to be pregnant and ready to give birth to her Son. The Devil called the dragon, seeks through his agents, the many heretics, to devour her son when he is born, or dogmatized by the Church, he seeks to destroy the important and divinely inspired true dogmas. The weapons used by the dragon are deception, lies and half-truths, being  the tools by which heretics attack seek to distort and thus destroy truth. 

“And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. He was cast out onto the earth and his angels with him. . .  and when the dragon saw that he was cast out to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to a man child . . . and the serpent cast out of his mouth water that he might cause her to be carried away and swallowed up by the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.”

What is the water that the serpent casts out of his mouth as a river after the woman?  It is the only thing that can come out of his mouth, falsehood, calumny and malevolence. During the heretical attacks of the iconoclasts the Devil’s agents cast insults against icons and branded their adoration as being idolatry.   

The woman clothed with the sun was given two wings of a great eagle to enable her to rise up and away from the attacks of the evil one. Satan soon found out that there was nothing he could do to the woman because of the two great wings, with which she continually evaded him. He cast out of his mouth water which falsehood and distortions in order to destroy truth.  But what was the great eagle and what was the nature of the two wings? The two wings of the great eagle are prayer and fasting and study of the word of God. The Church, during the period of great dragon’s authority, worshiped God in the wilderness in monasteries through prayer and fasting, and they looked forward to the future kingdom of God spurning the temporal and transient things enjoyed by men of authority and wealth and especially by those reigning with the Antichrist.     

Revelation depicts a battle between the evil one and the Church, during the period when it was doing battle with the Devil’s heretics by establishing firm and true dogmas which are held by Orthodoxy until this day.

PROPHECIES OF ABBA AMBO

PROPHECIES OF ABBA AMBO

Speaking to one of his disciples

     An Egyptian ascetic on the Neutron mountain, Abba Ambo, was a contemporary of St. Anthony the Great and was himself great in monastic asceticism.  Born about AD 303, he was one of the first to join Amoun in Nitria. He was illiterate until he was taught the Scriptures as a monk and ordained a Priest in 340. He had two characteristics by which he was especially known; by long training, he sealed his lips, so that no unnecessary word passed through them, and he never ate any bread other than that which he gained by his own labor, plaiting rushes. He was living like an angel of God and, in old age, his face shone as did the face of Moses in ancient times, so that the monks could not look upon it. He did not give a quick answer even to a simple question, without prayer and pondering in his heart.

     This wonderful Saint had clear discernment into the destiny of the living and the dead.  He entered reward in the Lord in the year 374.

      He said to his disciple: I will tell you this, my child, that the days will come when the Christians will add to and will take away, and will alter the books of the Holy Evangelists, and of the Holy Apostles, and of the Divine Prophets, and of the Holy Fathers.  They’ll tone down the Holy Scriptures and will compose troparia, hymns, and writings technologically.  Their minds will be spilled among them, and they will become alienated from its Heavenly Prototype.  For this reason the Holy Father previously encouraged the monks of the desert to write down the lives of the Fathers not onto parchment, but onto paper, because the coming generation will change them to suit their own personal tastes. So you see. The evil that comes will be terrible.

       Then the disciple said: So then, Geronda, the traditions are going to be changed and the practices of Christians?  Maybe there won’t exist enough   priests in the Church when these unfortunate times come?

And the father continued: In those times the love for God in most souls will grow cold and a great sadness will fall onto the world.  One nation shall face-off against another.  People will move away from their own places. Rulers will be confused. The clergy will be thrown into anarchy, and the monks will be inclined to negligence. The Church leaders will consider useless anything concerned with salvation, as much for their own souls as for the souls of their flocks, and they will despise any such concern.  All will show eagerness and energy for every matter regarding their dining table and their appetites.   They will be lazy in their prayers and casual in their criticisms. 

     As for the lives and teachings of the Holy Fathers, they’ll not have any interest to imitate them, nor even to hear them.   But rather they will complain and say that “if we had lived in those times, we’d have behaved like that.” And the bishops shall give way to the powerful in this world, giving answers on different matters only after taking gifts from everywhere and consulting the rational logic of the academics.  The poor man’s rights will not be defended, they’ll afflict widows, and harass orphans. Debauchery will permeate these people.  Most will not believe in God, they’ll hate each other and devour one another like beasts.  The one will steal from the other, they’ll be drunk and will walk about as blind.

The disciple again asked: What can we do, in such a state?

     And Elder AMBO answered: My child, in these time whoever will save his soul and prompt others to be saved will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.